Gardot was playing at piano bars in Philadelphia when she had a bicycle accident at the age of 18. Music played a critical role in her recovery from the head injury that resulted. She is an advocate of music therapy,[1] and has visited hospitals and universities to discuss its benefits. In 2012, it was reported that she had given her name to a music therapy program in New Jersey.[2] Gardot follows the teachings of Buddhism,[3][4] is a macrobiotic cook[5] and humanitarian.[6]. She speaks fluent French as well as her native English and considers herself a "citizen of the world".[7]

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Gardot was born in New Jersey and was brought up by her grandparents. Her grandmother was a Polish immigrant. Her mother, a photographer, traveled often, so they had few possessions and lived out of suitcases.[8][9] Gardot studied fashion at the Community College of Philadelphia.[10]

While riding her bike in Philadelphia in November 2003[11][12] she was hit by an SUV that ran a red light. She suffered head and spinal injuries, and her pelvis was broken in two places. She was confined to a hospital bed for a year and had to remain lying on her back. She had to re-learn simple tasks, such as brushing her teeth and walking. She was left oversensitive to light and sound, requiring her to wear sunglasses most of the time.[8] Gardot suffered short-term and long-term memory loss and had difficulty with her sense of time. She compared her recovery to "climbing Mount Everest every day" and often wakes with no memory of what she has to do that day.[3]

The accident damaged the neural pathways between the two cortices that control perception and higher mental function.[1] Encouraged by a physician who believed music would help heal her brain, Gardot began writing songs.[13] (According to a paper by Norman-Haignere, Kanwisher, and McDermott in the journal Neuron, listening to music and trying to hum or sing can help the brain form new pathways.[14][15]) Gardot learned to hum, then began to sing into a tape recorder, and was eventually able to write songs that referred to her rehabilitation. Gabrielle Giffords, also suffering from a traumatic brain injury, also benefitted greatly from music therapy.

Her doctor at the University of Medicine of New Jersey, Richard Jermyn, DO, compared her condition to a computer. The computer was still intact and the memory was there, but she could not access it. "That's what a brain injury does. It takes your ability to access that away," Jermyn stated.[16]

For several years Gardot traveled with a physiotherapist and carried a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS) strapped to her waist to reduce pain.[8] While onstage she said, "The first maybe half a dozen times experiencing this, that was the only 30 minutes in my life that I did not feel pain for that moment. And it was addictive." From her accident to her first performance, her music career was born. "It was a most unusual start, but when you come from a place where things are tough it makes it that much easier to appreciate the times when life is easy", she said.[16]

Given her oversensitivity to sound, she chose quieter music. On the treadmill she listened to bossa nova
by Stan Getz. Unable to sit comfortably at the piano, she learned to play guitar on her back when she was in the hospital.[9] During her recovery, she wrote songs that became part of the EP Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions, which she produced.[17] Gardot was reluctant to record her songs at first, stating that they were too private for the public to hear, but she relented and her songs were played on a Philadelphia radio station.[9]

Gardot was introduced to macrobiotics by a friend. She began to cook and experiment with macrobiotics for several hours a day. She believes the new diet helped her mental ability to cope with pain, and that the routine of cooking helped her relax, avoid focusing on her physical discomfort, and sleep more easily.[18]

Gardot started music lessons at the age of nine and began playing piano in Philadelphia bars at the age of sixteen on Fridays and Saturdays for four hours a night. She insisted on playing only music she liked, such as The Mamas & the Papas, Duke Ellington, and Radiohead.[19]

^"Unchained Melody". Telegraph Magazine. London. 5 May 2012. When she was 19 a road accident nearly ended Melody Gardot's life – and started her acclaimed singing career. Eight years on, she still can't escape the pain but it hasn't stopped her traveling the world to record her third album